The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) have together created a new industry/science forum.
Its inaugural meeting took place at the end of last year, and the aim is to facilitate more direct dialogue between the fishing industry and scientists at Cefas. The first meeting was held online, with the hope of future meetings being either face-to-face or hybrid.
‘We have long recognised the importance of a strong dialogue between fisheries scientists and the industry, but in recent years we have tended to hold those discussions within a policy context,’ said NFFO chief executive Barrie Deas.
‘It’s important that this continues but we think that a forum like this would allow for a more direct conversation between fisheries scientists and the industry to take place. You can’t expect to have good fisheries management based on inadequate information, so understanding each other is of paramount importance.’
The first meeting covered a wide range of subjects including stock identification, the young fish survey, science underpinning discard policy, Fishery Management Plans, distributional changes in species, impacts of sea temperature change and more.
Cefas presented their new analytical tool, Geofish, which has the potential to revolutionise understanding of the spatial dimensions of fisheries. Still in development, this combines satellite tracking, and logbook, data that can be probed to provide detailed information about fishing activity and its impacts. Geofish is emerging as an important advisory tool for some of the trade-offs ahead. Data security, levels of access, and adequate safeguards will be crucial and were part of the discussion.
The new forum also took a deep dive into spatial prioritisation, against the background of the ABPmer report produced for NFFO/SFF, which signposts the scale of potential displacement of fishing activities from historic fishing grounds.
This initial meeting is seen as an important first step to establish a regular dialogue between fisheries scientists and the fishing industry. Although the first meeting included scientists and the NFFO Executive, the Forum could evolve over time to incorporate other parties. The Forum expects to meet three or four time a year, with the next meeting in April 2023. This will not preclude stand-alone meetings on specific topics in the meantime.
‘This Forum provides a great opportunity for the fishing industry and Cefas’ scientists to come together to discuss the pivotal issues facing the marine environment,’ Cefas CEO Neil Hornby commented.
‘There are many topics where we share a mutual interest and it was interesting to hear the concerns, comments, and suggestions of the industry. I hope that this Forum will continue to promote a closer working relationship and enhance outcomes for the ocean.’
